David Copperfield (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)A sumptuous, wonderful adaptation; unexpectedly and disarmingly excellent.
I was a little hesitant going into this: having read the novel a couple of times and declared it my own, I had long fondly imagined the scenes and characters without any need for assistance, thank you very much.
Consequently, I felt the way many Tolkien fans must have felt before those three recent movies came out: leery that my coveted imaginings would be sullied by what might prove to be a jarrring and irreversible contamination.
These fears were misplaced, however. The full vitality of Dickens's bittersweet classic -- all the heaping joys and sorrows of life -- comes through quite powerfully in this handsome BBC version. After about 25 minutes I was literally on the edge of my seat.
Oh, and speaking of this version: they spent some money on it, you'll be happy to know. It's not one of those innumerable stuffy BBC dramas that take place (for budget considerations if nothing else) in an intolerable series of drawing rooms and antechambers. No, they did this one right: the blokes went outside and built some proper sets, and it shows.
Yes, though fully prepared to dislike it, I find myself here with little ammunition for complaint. I wish Traddles hadn't suffered deletion; he is one character I have difficulty picturing and could have used some help. Also, the actress who played Dora was not exactly my conception of her . . . but this is nitpicking.

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The classic David Copperfield was not just Charles Dickens' favorite work. It has been the most popular of his books since it was first published 150 years ago. Micawber, Peggotty, Betsey Trotwood, Uriah Heep, Mr. Creakle, Mrs. Crupp, and Mr. Dick... never were so many of Dickens' famous and best-loved characters gathered together in just one of his works.They are all brought to life by a world-class cast including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Oscar-winner Maggie Smith (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood), Bob Hoskins (Hook), Nicholas Lyndhurst (Bullshot) and Pauline Quirke (The Elephant Man) in this sparkling adaptation.The most autobiographical of Dickens' work, David Copperfield often echoes the writer's own life. It tells a moving story of David's journey from birth to maturity, a journey which inextricably links his life with some of Dickens' most colorful and extraordinary families.

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My Boy Jack (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)2007's "My Boy Jack" is an extraordinarily good drama for television, featuring an excellent cast and a compelling story about the First World War, based on a play and a screenplay by David Haig.
When Britain goes to war with Imperial Germany in 1914, young men sign up in droves for the military. John "Jack" Kipling, son of famous writer and British Empire advocate Rudyard Kipling, is anxious to serve in uniform but rejected due to poor eyesight. Overruling the concerns of his wife and daughter, Kipling Senior pulls some strings to get Jack a commission in the Irish Guards. Jack works hard to overcome the challenge of his eyesight, in the process becoming a competent lieutenant and earning the respect of his platoon. All too quickly, Jack ships out for the Western Front, where he goes missing in action in his first mission "over the top" from the trenches at Loos in 1915. The family will spend agonizing months trying to learn his whereabouts. A shell-shocked member of Jack's platoon will finally bring word of Jack's fate.
David Haig is uncanny as Rudyard Kipling, Jack's father, a superbly talented storyteller and novelist, now a government propagandist trying to make sense of hideous casualties. His efforts to enable his son to "do his part" will be a source of immense guilt when Jack goes missing. Kim Cattrell is astonishingly good as Carrie, Jack's American mother. Haunted by the loss of another child, Carrie advocates for a position of less danger for her son, whom she fears will be at additional risk due to his poor eyesight. When Jack goes missing, Carrie is relentless in tracking down clues to his possible fate. Carey Mulligan is very effective as Elsie "Bird" Kipling, Jack's sympathetic older sister, who shares with him the stifling burden of living in the shadow of a very prominent father. Daniel Radcliff is absolutely credible as Jack, whether braving the challenge of military training or sneaking cigarettes with his sister.
At the core of the drama is the haunting question of whether Jack should have gone into service in the first place. The family argues over Kipling Senior's efforts to get Jack preferential treatment, but the story makes clear that Jack is very much a volunteer. Moreover, it is apparent that Jack, out from under his father's shadow, is transformed by his few months in uniform from boy to man, performing with exemplary bravery and with compassion for his soldiers.
Production values are exceptionally good for a television movie. At least some filming was done at Kipling's home of Bateman in Southern England. Period costumes and manners are spot-on. The recreation of the Western Front is appropriately wet, muddy, and terrifying. The closing scene, in which Rudyard Kipling comforts King George V for the unexpected loss of his own child by reciting a moving poem, is a perfect ending for the movie.
This movie is very highly recommended as compelling period family drama.

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Its 1915 and World War I has been declared. Aged only 17, Kiplings son, like most of his generation, is swept up in the enthusiasm to fight the Germans, a mood stoked vigorously by his father. Jack is cripplingly short sighted and the army has rejected him twice, rendering him too myopic even for an army suffering thousands of casualties a week and desperate for recruits. Yet Rudyard is undeterred, determined that his son should go to the front, like countless other sons, and fight for the values that he, Kipling, espouses so publicly. Using his fame and influence, Kipling persuades Lord Roberts, on his death bed, to get Jack a commission in the Irish guards. This intervention is barely tolerated by Carrie and daughter Elise (Carey Mulligan), as they disagree that Jack is fit to fight and fear for his safety on the front line. Jack is instantly popular with his troop he is a great leader and trains tirelessly to overcome the disability that is his eyesight. Six months later Jack sails to France as a lieutenant. Jack went missing in action during the Battle of Loos and his mother and father carried out an increasingly desperate search for him, spanning many years and many miles.DVD Features:Deleted ScenesInterviews

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Extras: The Complete Second Season (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ricky Gervais actually managed to top himself with season one of "Extras," all about a struggling actor trying to catch a break.
Well, in the second season of "Extras," his character has finally gotten one. But obviously it's not smooth sailing for the stressed-out extras, who continue to stumble through odd jobs and exaggerated celebrities. It's full of hilarious spoofery of the entertainment biz, and is pretty much hysterical from start to finish.
In the opening episode, Andy (Gervais) has finally gotten his own sitcom, "When the Whistle Blows," and is over the moon. Problem is, the BBC decides to dumb it down and make him use funny costuming to achieve cheap laughs. As the season goes on, Andy struggles to keep "When the Whistle Blows" afloat and approved of, since the reviews are atrocious.
Meanwhile, Maggie (Ashley Jensen) has a tiny part in an absurd courtroom drama starring Orlando Bloom, and the arrogant Bloom starts pursuing her when she expresses a lack of interest. ("They're basically just doing it because you're famous." "Well, they're not just doing it because I'm famous -- no, it's my looks as well!"). When he's not making fun of Johnny Depp ("I've got scissors for hands!")He and Maggie continue to tangle with a bunch of other celebs -- a sex-obsessed Daniel Radcliffe (who accidentally snaps a condom at Diana Rigg), Warwick Davis, a self-promoting Chris Martin, and Robert De Niro. He also gets mocked by David Bowie in a pub, and his sitcom is criticized by Stephen Fry. He even stars in a play directed by Ian McKellen, but neglects to notice that it's a gay romance with a man-man kiss.
It's sort of pleasant that Gervais didn't pound the "barely employed actor" thing to death after the first season of "Extras." Instead, he uses Andy's sitcom to open new storylines (and new disasters) for his increasingly embittered character, as he tries to straddle the fence between success and being a genuine actor.
Gervais continues to write wonderfully squirmy dialogue ("'TV bully kicks dwarf in face.'" "Accurate, but as you say there's no such thing as bad publicity") and horribly embarrassing situations. It's all filmed in a very natural style, except that now we have some looks inside Andy's sitcom, a sort of lowbrow, widely-watched comedy with a random celeb cameo.
Poor Andy has a rough time in this season, and so Gervais really brings out his frustration and dissatisfaction with the way his poor show has been mutilated. Not to mention his tendency to embarrass himself. And Jensen is wonderful as the sweet, flaky Maggue, while Stephen Merchant is great fun as Andy's inept agent.
But the best is the stuff uttered by the actors -- Radcliffe and Bloom are hysterical as clumsily woman-chasing, self-obsessed parodies of themselves, and it's hard not to adore them for it. Bowie's "pathetic little fat man/nobody's laughing" song is just hilarious. And McKellen steals the show, whether it's discussing his "method" ("How did I know what to say? They had my lines written down on a SCRIPT") or accidentally making it look like he and Andy had an intimate encounter.
"Extras: Season Two" is a solid follow-up to the outstanding first season, with our "extras" continuing to struggle in the surreal world of showbiz. Definitely worth seeing!

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What happens when an unknown actor who can't catch a break actually catches one? For Andy Millman, who's just broken through with a TV sitcom called When the Whistle Blows, celebrity doesn't necessarily mean happiness - it just means your follies and fauxes-pas get that much more attention. Extras: The show with big, big stars...and Andy Millman. DVD Features:Documentary: "Extras Backstage" - an hour-long feature that goes behind-the-scenes of Extras Easter EggsFeaturette: "Taping Nigel: The Gimpening" - hilarious featurette that shows the `loving relationship between Extras cast & crew "Art of Corpsing" - behind-the-scenes look at how the Extras cast handles the most outrageous moments on the set Outtakes

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